A year has passed, and Zima has learned that Loki has been hiding out on Earth. She immediately goes to look for him, but what she finds is far from what she expected. Not only that, but the ancient Aether has found its way to Asgard through Jane Fo...
Zima wasted no time once she heard this. She turned and ran as fast as she could as soon as she was far enough away from them in order to prevent them from knowing she eavesdropped. She had never felt like this in what felt like forever. As she ran, she heard others calling after her, but she ignored them. Only one thing mattered to her.
'I need to find him.' She thought, 'I must know if this is true.'
As she reached the outer edge of the city, she used her magic to hide herself so not even Heimdall could see her sneaking off. She then stopped to scout which of the hidden paths she knew would take her to Earth. She found it near one of the outer mountains, and used both her ice powers and her ice form to run across the water. She then climbed the mountain, pausing by the cave with the hidden passage.
"I hope I know what I'm doing." The Goddess of Arts says to herself, "Please be okay."
Zima then took a deep breath before walking further into the cave. There was a flash of light before she found herself in Stuttgart, Germany. She looked around the area before seeing people going to a nearby gala. With a quick green shimmer, Zima was no longer in her green Asgardian dress, but another emerald green dress. This one was more fitted with long sleeves, a slit up to her right thigh, and gold embroidery. Her raven hair also had some curls in it, instead of the straight she normally preferred. With her disguise set, she followed a group to the gala, sneaking in with ease before immediately scanning the room.
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'He has to be here.' She thought, 'Why else would I have been brought here? Now, where are you...'
"You alright, miss?" A man asked her in German. "You seem lost."
"Oh, I'm quite alright." Zima responded, "I'm just looking for someone. I was supposed to meet him here."
This seemed to satisfy the man, as he left her alone. She continued to wander around, looking through the crowd, but saw nothing. Eventually, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, and looked to see a male figure in one of the upstairs areas making his way toward the stairs. She couldn't see him very well, and she discreetly made her way over before stopping once she saw the familiar face.
"Loki." She said under her breath, "I found you at last."
However, the God of Mischief did not seem to notice her, despite her bright green dress standing out from all the blacks, blues, and other colors. Zima watched as he made his way down the stairs, dressed in a black suit with green and gold scarf. She also noticed what appeared to be a gold cane in his hand with a bright blue gem.
She started to move closer, but was stopped when she saw him attack a man before flipping another onto what looked like a stone table. She and the others watched in horror as he then took out a device and drilled it into the man's eye.
'No,' Zima thought, 'This can't be... he wouldn't...' Her thoughts were interrupted by the other guests screaming and running. She then quickly shifted her thoughts to them, and getting them away safely.
"Everyone, get out of here!" She yelled in German, "Go! Hurry!"
She and the guests ran out of the building before she turned back to see Loki in the doorway, a gold shimmer around him as his suit turned into his Asgardian armor, and his cane a gold scepter with a blade curved around the gem. As he exited and walked toward the terrified crowd, a police car came towards them, which he blasted away with a blue beam from his scepter. This left Zima just as scared and confused as the others, but for reasons they didn't know. As they ran, three images of him appeared, scaring the crowd even more.
"Kneel before me." Loki said as the first illusion appeared. The crowd still tried to run, but were stopped by the illusions. "I said..." He added before slamming his scepter, causing blue lights to flash. "KNEEL!"
This got the crowd to stop and they did so, turning in his direction. Zima did as well, as she knew he still didn't notice her. She didn't want to reveal herself just yet. She needed to know what was happening.
"Is it not this simpler?" Loki asked the crowd, "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."
Zima had finally had enough of this and decided to speak. "You know," She starts, drawing his and everyone's attention, "you remind me of someone I used to be close to. Maybe I'm mistaken..." She then stood, and with a shimmer, her gala dress was her olive green Asgardian dress with the black swirls and gold belt and breastplate. "But I'm pretty sure I'm not. You owe me some answers, Loki."
